I have written about political corruption in Australia before, this time I wanted to comment on an aspect of corruption in Australian politics that sadly seems to be becoming more common!

Australia is in the grips of a two month electoral campaign, with elections being held on 2nd July 2016. The usual lies and deceit are continuously arising – it brings a sour taste to my mouth!

Today (12th June 2016), through a media release (and also reported on the ABC), I have read that the two major political parties (the old, or dinosaur parties) in Australia, the Australian Labor Party, and the Liberal Party, have done a preference deal that would see some competitors preferenced last in the upcoming election.

The reason for this deal is to reduce political competition, and to try to maintain absolute power in government.

What is a preferential system

This section has just been updated to correct an error – my apologies. 13th June 2016.

A House of Representatives candidate is elected if they gain more than 50 per cent of the formal vote.

First, all of the number ‘1’ votes are counted for each candidate. If a candidate gets more than half the total first preference votes, that candidate will be elected.

If no candidate has more than half of the votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is excluded. This candidate’s votes are transferred to the other candidates according to the second preferences of voters on the ballot papers for the excluded candidate. If still no candidate has more than half the votes, the candidate who now has the fewest votes is excluded and the votes are transferred according to the next preference shown. This process continues until one candidate has more than half the total number of formal votes and is elected.

A distribution of preferences takes place in every division, even where a candidate already has an absolute majority of first preference votes. The result of this full distribution of preferences is used to calculate the two-party-preferred (TPP) statistics for divisions that have the Australian Labor Party and Coalition representatives as the final two candidates.

In divisions that do not have the Australian Labor Party and Coalition representatives as the final two candidates, a scrutiny for information is conducted to determine the TPP result. A scrutiny for information, in such cases, is a notional distribution of preferences to find the result of preference flows to the Australian Labor Party and Coalition candidates.

If you are interested in how votes in the senate are determined, which is different again, you can review the following document:

The corruption!

Unfortunately of late, this process is being used to block potential candidates from achieving a majority through preferences. The two major parties are doing deals to place potential rivals lower on the preference list, in order to block their ability to receive usable preferences.

Pathetically, even though Labor and Liberal hate each other, they would prefer to see each other in power, rather than have a real opponent (an independent or minor party) in that seat. It shows quite clearly how corrupt these two major parties have become.

To extrapolate, Labor would prefer to see a Liberal candidate in power, rather than a Greens candidate with more closely aligned policies. It shows you how pathetic they really are!

How and why

While there have been independents and smaller parties, like The Greens, Fred Nile, Australia First etc., for some time, their ability to achieve a majority vote has been small, and therefore their chances of attaining a position in Australia’s parliament has been small.

However, the general population are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the two major parties, and more people are voting for independents and smaller parties that better represents their values.

Unfortunately for the Labor Party or the Liberal party, the more seats they lose, the more seats that independents, The Greens or other minor parties achieve. This results in more alternative policies and opinions than the Labor Party or the Liberal Party – what we would call a democracy!

This is the very reason why they are trying to block other political representatives using the preference system.

A democratic system forces those in parliament to form coalitions, and debate policies in parliament. This can inhibit them from implementing their particular agendas, and block bad or ruthless policies.

However by corrupting the preferential voting system, as they continue to do, they can control who sits in parliament. This makes it more likely that they will get policies passed that suit their own agendas.

Such is democracy in Australia!

So what does that mean for Australia.

The more the major parties use this kind of technique, the more it reduces our ability to democratically elect the representative of our choice. The political system becomes corrupt and controlled by those with the most power – or money!

This is not the first time that this sort of preference deal has occurred; it happens every election, and it won’t be the last.

The two “old”, or “dinosaur” parties have had power in Australia for a very long time. They have implemented their own form of democracy [almost] to the exclusion of all others for more than a century.

Our system, which purports to be a democratic system, is being manipulated by those in power, to maintain power – this is the corruption.

Realistically, the preferential system is flawed. It has the potential to be corrupted by those who feel threatened by opposition. This is becoming increasingly obvious.

As Hitler once did, our major political powers are [trying to] eliminate their competitors. They are backed by money, largely from the corporate world. By eliminating competitors they have a greater chance of implementing their own political agendas – unopposed.

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About Blog of Greg

I consider myself a thinker and I like to discuss everything in life with those around me. Mostly I am serious, sometimes I am funny, and occasionally I am rude. I like to wear my heart on my sleeve and say what I feel, or think!
It is important to me to be honest about how I feel and why!
I detest pretense, big egos and self importance.
I believe that I am no more important than you, and similarly that you are no more important than me!
[apparently I should reflect on this more often]
This blog is a way of engaging people in different aspects of life; its goal is to present a different view of life and contribute to a broadening of our awareness.
While this blog is essentially my opinion, I also understand that there are other opinions out there. Though I encourage discussion, I may “delete” comments that I find are unhelpful, argumentative, or offensive towards myself or another person.
Often I write about politics – apparently that is an interest of mine – but I also like to write about other more personal things that affect us in our day to day lives.
Along with this blog, I also write to politicians and newspapers; I often present a commentary on my blog about following comments or decisions. That way everyone understands what they have said – and sometimes of course how big a buffoon they are:)
Please feel free to comment on my posts, as I would like to hear what you have to say.
After all…. Your opinion is just as valid as mine!